Nike_ i2 Software Just Didn't Do It

Nike: i2 Software Just Didn't Do It
(03/01/01, 2:40 p.m. ET) By Tim Wilson, InternetWeek
Nike Inc. and supply-chain-software supplier i2 Technologies are pointing fingers at each
other for a flawed i2 implementation that upset Nike's inventory and ultimately forced the
footwear maker to slash earnings estimates. Nike officials said an i2 supply-and-
demand-planning application didn't perform as expected, resulting in shortages of some
footwear models and excess stock of others. Executives at i2 (stock: ITWO), however,
maintain that the problem was caused not by the software itself, but by Nike's customized
implementation.
Regardless of who's to blame, the resulting inventory shortages will reduce Nike's fiscal
third-quarter sales by as much as $100 million. Earnings estimates for the quarter, which
ended this week, have been cut to 34 to 38 cents per share from 50 to 55 cents.
Nike has been working on its i2 software implementation since June as part of a $400
million overhaul designed to streamline communications with buyers and suppliers and
lower operating costs. The i2 software failed to meet expectations "both in performance
and functionality," a Nike spokeswoman said.
"This is what we get for our $400 million?" Nike chairman Philip Knight asked financial
analysts when the company issued its earnings warning earlier this week.
Nike and i2 have "created some technical and operational workarounds" and the
implementation is now stable, the spokeswoman said, but the financial impact of the
problem will be felt for six to nine months, until Nike can unload the excess inventory.
But i2 last week was quick to place the onus on Nike. "We recommend that customers
follow our guidelines for implementation—we have a specific methodology and
templates for customers to use—but Nike chose not to use our implementation
methodology," said Katrina Roche, i2's chief marketing officer. Roche said the Nike
problem is "an isolated incident" and that the other 1,000 companies that use i2 software
aren't at risk.
Several analysts said they think Nike might be using i2 as a scapegoat for its financial
troubles, much as other companies have previously blamed Y2K remediation or ERP
implementation headaches for their financial shortfalls.
But other analysts said Nike isn't overstating the impact of its software snafu. "Any time
a company is deploying a system on such a wide scale, they're going to have problems
more often than not," said Robert Toomey, a financial analyst at Dain Rauscher Corp.
Dain Rauscher lowered its estimate on Nike's 2001 earnings to $2.09 per share from
$2.35 following disclosure of the software problem. Its 2002 estimates were lowered to
$2.51 from $2.70.
Nike's stock dropped nearly 20 percent on Tuesday, and i2's share price fell 22 percent
that same day.
Nike: i2 Software Just Didn't Do It
Although Nike sometimes uses third-party integrators for large-scale application
deployments, it chose i2 to integrate the demand-and-supply-planning tool. "We knew
going in that it was going to be a tough implementation," said i2's Roche, "because the
apparel industry tends to be very complex and because Nike had tried other [supply chain
tool] vendors and they didn't work out."
According to Roche, the cutover to the i2 app wasn't complete when Nike began to input
data for its forthcoming spring 2001 line. "The solution wasn't stable at the time they
started using it," Roche said. Nike also found i2's recommended methodology and
templates too rigid and chose not to use them, she said.
Furthermore, Nike didn't anticipate the recent weakening of the U.S. footwear market
when it input that data, Roche said. "We were working nine months in advance, and the
situation looked very different in July," she said. But Nike officials said the i2 software
simply didn't work the way the vendor had promised. "It didn't deliver on performance or
functionality," the spokeswoman said.
In any case, by the fall of 2000 Nike was over-manufacturing some shoes while
struggling to meet retailer demands for others. Nike and i2 staffers tracked down the
problems and developed ways around them, either by changing operational procedures or
writing new software. "We wrote several new applications for Nike, and in fact, Nike's
input was used in the new module we've written for the apparel industry," Roche said.
That i2 module is due out later this year.
But by the time the changes were made, inventory problems had already cut into Nike's
bottom line, said CFO Don Blair. "In some cases, we over-ordered materials, and in
other cases, we did not place orders on a timely basis with the factor," Blair said. "So we
experienced product shortages and delays that resulted in lost sales and additional air
freight charges to bring products in."
Nike already has filled most of the back orders not met because of the software glitch, but
excess inventory will have to be disposed of through discount distribution channels such
as Nike's outlet stores. That liquidation could take six to nine months, Blair said.
Analysts said any company that does a highly customized implementation of i2 software
could experience Nike's problems, particularly if the customer doesn't follow i2's
implementation prescription.
But Roche maintained that the Nike situation is a fluke. "We've got over 1,000 customers
up and running, and some of them are in the apparel industry as well," Roche said. "This
is the first time any of them have made this kind of announcement."
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